Sometimes a promotional campaign takes on a dynamic life of its own, as when Brett White and his team prepared to launch a new product line at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in late January.
White, Lean Cuisine’s marketing director with the Nestlé Prepared Foods Co. in Solon, was getting ready to promote the company’s new line, Spa Cuisine, which consists of eight entrées made with 100 percent whole grains.
“We often heard from our consumers that, ‘If only I had a personal trainer, a nutritionist and a personal chef like all the stars have, then I could eat healthy, too.’ … So the tie-in between celebrity-filled Sundance and Spa Cuisine was kind of natural,” White says.
The next blockbuster idea came when Lean Cuisine contacted Fred Segal Beauty, a Southern California salon, spa and stylist agency that was also a Sundance sponsor.
“Fred Segal was so pleased with the (Spa Cuisine) products and how they taste that they were willing to actually serve them in their spa, which is extremely exclusive,” White says. “(Fred Segal’s) Sundance event is VIP-only … it’s very limited, restricted access.”
Freshly unpacked from his Utah trip, White shares lessons learned while launching the Spa Cuisine line at the festival.
* Always be prepared. “The facilities we had for preparing our food were less than ideal within our normal conditions,” he says. “We were storing product in garages, and we had ovens that hadn’t been used in three years. … Prepare for some less than ideal conditions, and make sure you can deliver your product.”
* If you sign it, they will come. His team prepared Spa Cuisine-branded trays, signs and napkins to create a buzz at Sundance. “We felt like we had a good presence,” he says. “We also had a Lean Cuisine delivery service; we had a big GMC truck that was wrapped with Lean Cuisine-Spa Cuisine graphics.”
* Know your audience. Lean Cuisine has had a presence at other events, such as the Komen Race for the Cure, which attracts 10,000 to 30,000 participants. “There were 40,000 people at Sundance every day, so it was little bigger,” White says. “(Sundance) was different, too, because of the celebrity factor. You’ve got a lot of security, more red tape, restrictions and a lot of little issues you’ve got to deal with.”
* Bring on the photo ops. “Our nutrition spokesperson and our brand team did a number of interviews,” White says. “We had a lot of celebrities who got their picture taken in the Lean Cuisine Lounge, holding product, so we’re hopeful that we get lots of good coverage.”
* Think innovation. “TV is getting more and more fragmented. … It used to be, you could run a 30-second commercial, and you could reach 80 percent of the public very quickly and easily. Now with cable, TiVo, online and every other medium of communication out there, TV viewing audiences are very fragmented, and it’s a lot harder to get your message out,” White says.
In addition to the Sundance tie-in, White was planning to promote Spa Cuisine in major U.S. cities in February with company representatives wearing Spa Cuisine T-shirts imprinted with ‘Grainiac’ or ‘Grain is the new black,’ on the front and featuring a Spa Cuisine ad on the back.
“People will be handing out cards for free samples that they can get online, and posting magnets and stuff all over the cities,” White says. “We’re doing a lot of online advertising and support behind this launch, as well as the traditional TV and print.”
HOW TO REACH: Lean Cuisine, (800) 993-8625 or www.leancuisine.com
